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Radiation is often categorized as either ionizing or non-ionizing depending on the energy of the radiated particles. Ionizing radiation carries more than 10 electron volts (eV), which is enough to ionize atoms and molecules and break chemical bonds. This is an important distinction due to the large difference in harmfulness to living organisms.
A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive. Three of the most common types of decay are alpha, beta, and gamma decay. The weak force is the mechanism that is responsible for beta decay, while the other two are governed by the electromagnetic and nuclear forces. [1] Radioactive decay is a random process at the level of ...
In the context of radioactivity, activity or total activity (symbol A) is a physical quantity defined as the number of radioactive transformations per second that occur in a particular radionuclide. [3] The unit of activity is the becquerel (symbol Bq), which is defined equivalent to reciprocal seconds (symbol s −1).
Rutherford applied the principle of a radioactive element's half-life in studies of age determination of rocks by measuring the decay period of radium to lead-206. Half-life is constant over the lifetime of an exponentially decaying quantity, and it is a characteristic unit for the exponential decay equation.
Particle radiation is the radiation of energy by means of fast-moving subatomic particles. Particle radiation is referred to as a particle beam if the particles are all moving in the same direction, similar to a light beam. Due to the wave–particle duality, all moving particles also have wave character. Higher energy particles more easily ...
Radiophysics (also modern writing radio physics [1]) is a branch of physics focused on the theoretical and experimental study of certain kinds of radiation, its emission, propagation and interaction with matter. The term is used in the following major meanings: study of radio waves (the original area of research) study of radiation used in ...
Kerma, when applied to air, is equivalent to the legacy roentgen unit of radiation exposure, but there is a difference in the definition of these two units. The gray is defined independently of any target material, however, the roentgen was defined specifically by the ionisation effect in dry air, which did not necessarily represent the effect ...
The roentgen or röntgen (/ ˈ r ɛ n t ɡ ə n,-dʒ ə n, ˈ r ʌ n t-/; [2] symbol R) is a legacy unit of measurement for the exposure of X-rays and gamma rays, and is defined as the electric charge freed by such radiation in a specified volume of air divided by the mass of that air (statcoulomb per kilogram).